News Update: Shale

ONEOK Inc. plans to expand its natural gas pipeline infrastructure in the Permian Basin and Oklahoma by up to a total of 1.7 Bcf/d to provide additional natural gas takeaway capacity in two of the country's most active production areas. The projects include:

A 150-MMcf/d expansion of ONEOK's WesTex Transmission system from the Permian Basin to interstate pipeline delivery points in the Texas Panhandle to 450 MMcf/d.

A 150-MMcf/d eastbound expansion of the ONEOK Gas Transportation system from two natural gas processing plants in the STACK and SCOOP areas to an eastern Oklahoma interstate pipeline delivery point.

A 100-MMcf/d westbound expansion of ONEOK Gas Transportation from the STACK area to multiple interstate pipeline delivery points in western Oklahoma.

A project to make Roadrunner Gas Transmission bidirectional. The project is expected to result in approximately 750 MMcf/d of eastbound transportation capacity from the Delaware Basin to the Waha area.

For more information, visit www. oneok.com or call (918) 591-5026.

Vaquero Midstream Caymus II Plant starts up

Vaquero Midstream recently began processing rich natural gas through its second 200-MMcf/d UOP Russell cryogenic processing plant at the Caymus Natural Gas Processing Facility in Pecos County, Texas. Caymus II became operational just nine months after construction began in mid-2017.

Caymus I and II are anchored by longterm volume and acreage commitments from producers in multiple zones and benches of the Delaware Basin. The plants are served by over 135 miles of high- and low-pressure rich gas-gathering pipelines, including the Lariat 24-inch and 30-inch rich gas header system traversing through the core of the Southern Delaware Basin through Pecos, Reeves, Ward and Loving counties and supported with over 43,000 horsepower of field compression.

For more information, visit www. vaqueromidstream.com or call (281) 501-5699.

DOE's new NGL primer focuses on Appalachia region

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published the 2018 Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) primer, which highlights the resource potential of NGLs, with a focus on the Appalachian region. This publication provides an important update of a previous version from 2017, reporting even larger projections for ethane production from the Marcellus and Utica shale plays than previously estimated.

The 2018 primer includes new data from the reference case for the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) 2018 Annual Energy Outlook as well as forecasts from a recent EIA Short-term Energy Outlook. The new data includes updated information regarding infrastructure developments in the Appalachian region, and a new section identifying research and development opportunities related to natural gas and NGLs production, conversion and storage.

For more information, visit www. energy.gov or call (202) 586-5000.

EDF report reaffirms benefits of increased use of clean natural gas

API released the following statement on the Environmental Defense Fund's (EDF's) recent paper on methane emissions:

"This paper is consistent with the fact that methane emissions were low in 2015 and reaffirms the benefits of increased use of natural gas as a fuel source, which is driving U.S. carbon dioxide emissions downward," said API Upstream Group Director Erik Milito. "The industry has achieved continued emissions reductions thanks in large part to technology advancements, and this innovation has been fundamentally important to our shared goal to reduce emissions.

"Methane emissions are down 14 percent since 1990 during the same period that natural gas production has increased more than 50 percent. Driven by greater use of natural gas, the air we breathe is the cleanest of the modern era and continues to improve, and U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are at 25-year lows."